Chapter 6: Research Strategies and Validity

A researcher evaluates the effectiveness of an art class by having an art expert judge the quality of student's paintings at the beginning of the class, in the middle of the class, and at the end of the class. If the art expert's standards for judgement change during the class, then the internal validity of the study is threatened by:

A time-related variable.

A researcher designs a study to determine whether female preschoolers prefer sweetened or unsweetened cereal. The researcher uses a box of sweetened colorful cereal and a box of unsweetened tan-colored cereal. The research finds that the group of preschoolers ate more of the sweetened colorful cereal and therefore prefers the sweetened cereal. Which two variables are confounded in this experiment?

Color of the cereal and sweetness of the cereal.

A research study records a score measuring alcohol use and a score measuring income level for each individual in a group of 40 year old men. The study intends to determine whether there is a relationship between the two variable. This study is an example of the _______ research strategy:

Correlational.

A study examining what percentage of married couples is satisfied with their marriages is an example of what research approach?

Descriptive.

Results from a research study suggest that stop-smoking program is very successful. However, the participants who volunteered for the study were all highly motivated to quit smoking and the researcher is concerned that the same results may not be obtained for smokers who are not as motivated. This study has a problem with:

External validity (problem).

If a researcher measure self-esteem with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, will another researcher get the same results measuring self-esteem with the Harter Self-Esteem Measure? This is a question of:

External validity (question of).

Any factor that limits the ability to generalize the results of the study is a threat to:

External validity.

A research study finds that a group of participants who received relaxation training had lower exam anxiety scores than a group who did not receive training. However, the researcher suspects that the difference between groups may be caused by the fact that the participants in one group are generally smarter than those in the other. This study has a problem with:

Internal validity (problem).

Any factor that allows an alternative explanation for the results of a study is a threat to:

Internal validity (threat).

Experimenter bias can threaten both internal and external validity because the results obtained in a study:

May be specific to the experimenter who has the expectations.

A research study begins by separating a sample of 40 year old men into two groups: a high-income group and a low-income group. A score measuring alcohol use is then obtained for each man. The study intends to determine whether there is a relationship between income and alcohol use. This study is an example of the ______ research strategy.

Nonexperimental.

The results of a study may be influenced by the fact that a participant knows he or she is being studied. This threat to external validity is:

Reactivity.

Any factor that raises doubts about the research results or the interpretation of the results is a:

Threat to validity.